Beginner's Hatch-A-Long

[EggieRowe]

i checked this afternoon and it was reading about 58 % so i am leaving it alone. well thats the external thermometer it's reading 58% and 102 and the one on the incubator is running says 50% humidity and 99.5 so i am just going to leave it i figure niether is going to totally trash the hatch so when i candle i'll see what to do.

That's exactly how far apart my readings are on the incubator sensors and the extra I laid inside, except I'm keeping my humidity in the mid 30's to low 40's until lockdown. But they are always 2 degrees and 6-8% apart.

Edited: Typed those percentages ALL WRONG!

 

[nettifer]

hi everyone ! this is my 2nd time! first was 4wks ago i got 3 chicks out of 10

hatched on days 24 & 25 temp kept fluctuating! did an eggtopsy on day 28 ,2 were yolks, 2 10 days developed,1 was 7 days developed & 2 were fully developed but didnt pip

3 doing well , ive now got 21 in due to lockdown tommorow

set 24 , removed 1 on day 5 smelled rotten eggs

2 removed day 14 no development,7 wriggled

others are blue & green eggs hard to see through so im leaving them in just in case! temp stayed at 37.4-37.8c humidity 40-45, so hopefully

 

[bigT88]

hi everyone ! this is my 2nd time! first was 4wks ago i got 3 chicks out of 10

hatched on days 24 & 25 temp kept fluctuating! did an eggtopsy on day 28 ,2 were yolks, 2 10 days developed,1 was 7 days developed & 2 were fully developed but didnt pip

3 doing well , ive now got 21 in due to lockdown tommorow

set 24 , removed 1 on day 5 smelled rotten eggs

2 removed day 14 no development,7 wriggled

others are blue & green eggs hard to see through so im leaving them in just in case! temp stayed at 37.4-37.8c humidity 40-45, so hopefully

good luck

 

[DavidKerk]

hi everyone ! this is my 2nd time! first was 4wks ago i got 3 chicks out of 10

hatched on days 24 & 25 temp kept fluctuating! did an eggtopsy on day 28 ,2 were yolks, 2 10 days developed,1 was 7 days developed & 2 were fully developed but didnt pip

3 doing well , ive now got 21 in due to lockdown tommorow

set 24 , removed 1 on day 5 smelled rotten eggs

2 removed day 14 no development,7 wriggled

others are blue & green eggs hard to see through so im leaving them in just in case! temp stayed at 37.4-37.8c humidity 40-45, so hopefully

Complicated incubation! I hope you have a good hatch!

 

[dutchbunny83]

It's the one from TSC that was $45, just a starter still air incubator.
I tried to calibrate it, but it said use a thermometer you know to be accurate, and every other thermometer I got said to calibrate against another one....
None of them say the same temperature, so I have no idea which is right!!!
I don't have one thermometer that I know is right

 

[dutchbunny83]

Did you run the incubator for 3 or so days before hand to check to make sure the temps would hold?

Yes I did.
And it holds for the most part, it will start to go down slightly and then the light comes back on to bump it back up.
But I don't know which of the 3 thermometers is accurate and they are all giving me different readings...

I don't know I think this is going to be a disaster if I can even get any to hatch

 

[hunter109]

I am new to incubators to what kind you all got jw

 

[hunter109]

I am a newbie at incubating I was wondering if 100.2and the humitiy of 38%to39%was to low i put more water in it to bring it up but I went down around 12:50 and it was the same would that be ok or is it to low and how would I get it up to we're it needs to be at I have both vents open to

 

[Manningjw]

Yes I did.
And it holds for the most part, it will start to go down slightly and then the light comes back on to bump it back up.
But I don't know which of the 3 thermometers is accurate and they are all giving me different readings...

I don't know I think this is going to be a disaster if I can even get any to hatch

The most deviation I had was one thermometer read 2 degrees lower than the other - which is enough to decrease your hatch significantly.

You can calibrate mechanical (non electronic) thermometers relatively easily if they measure down to 32 degrees. Put ice in a cup (or pan or whatever works) and cold water over it, mix it/let set for at least 5 minutes with the thermometer inside not touching the sides of the container. It should measure about 32 degrees (freezing point of water). However many degrees off it is that is your answer.

Another way you test a thermometer is to get an oral thermometer in a cup of water near 98.6 degrees, they should be exceedingly accurate because lives quite literally depend on their accuracy.

 

[Manningjw]

I am a newbie at incubating I was wondering if 100.2and the humitiy of 38%to39%was to low i put more water in it to bring it up but I went down around 12:50 and it was the same would that be ok or is it to low and how would I get it up to we're it needs to be at I have both vents open to

It depends what day of incubation you are on. If you are day 1 through day 18 that is perfectly adequate. If on day 19-21 then you need to increase the humidity beyond 60%. Adding a sponge or several more dishes of water would help.

Temperature depends on still air vs circulated air incubators. 100.2 is within the margin of safety for circulated air but your chicks may hatch ever so slightly early. 99.5-100 degrees seems to be the goal I see quoted most often for circulated air incubation.